Overview
The URL Broken Backlinks block lists backlinks that point to a target page returning an error (such as a 404). Each result includes the source page, anchor text, the broken target URL, and its HTTP status. Use it to recover lost link value or find broken-link outreach opportunities.Configuration
Target Domain / URL (Required)
The domain or URL to analyze. Example:{{step_1.output}}
Mode
How Ahrefs interprets the target. Default: Subdomains Options:Aggregation
How broken backlinks are grouped in the results. Default: 1 per domain Options:Limit
Maximum number of results to return. Default: 10 Range: 1–1000 Example:50
Output Format
How the block returns data to the next step. Default: Text (Human Readable) Options:Error Handling
Define what happens if the block fails to retrieve data. Options:- Terminate Workflow: Stop execution immediately.
- Continue Execution: Proceed to the next step despite the error.
Output Data
When Output Format isJSON (Raw), the block returns a list of broken backlinks. Each item includes:
url_from
The page that contains the broken link. Example:"https://blog.example.com/crm-roundup"
url_to
The broken target URL that the link points to. Example:"https://hubspot.com/old-page"
anchor
The clickable anchor text of the link. Example:"HubSpot pricing"
domain_rating_source
Ahrefs Domain Rating (0–100) of the linking domain. Example:68
traffic
Estimated monthly organic traffic of the source page. Example:2100
http_code_target
The HTTP status code returned by the broken target. Example:404
last_visited_target
When Ahrefs last crawled the broken target. Example:"2024-01-22T11:40:00Z"
When Output Format is Text, these same fields are returned as readable markdown instead of JSON.
Sample Output
Best Practices
- Fix or redirect broken target URLs to recover lost link value.
- Sort by
domain_rating_sourceto prioritize links from authoritative sources. - Use
http_code_targetto confirm the link is truly broken before acting. - Use
JSON (Raw)when saving results to Google Sheets or processing in code. - Run on a schedule to catch newly broken links early.
Common Use Cases
What’s Next
- See all links in URL Backlinks
- See referring sites in URL Referring Domains
- Check authority in Domain Rating
- Compare many targets with Batch Analysis
- Process multiple targets with the Loop Block
- Save data in Google Sheets